Where David Spade has Lost and Found stinking up his resume, Adam Sandler now has Mr. Deeds to join last year's Little Nicky. The sad thing is, that previous "comedy" actually as more laughs than this year's unfunny remake.
If you were one of the pour souls who were tricked into seeing this stinker, and thanks to a lobotomy you enjoyed it, this DVD would probably be right up your alley. In addition to the 97-minute movie that will sap away your intelligence, the DVD includes a commentary, deleted scenes, featurettes, and more.
The Movie
When a wealthy media mogul kicks the bucket, Longfellow Deeds (Sandler) learns that he has inherited $40 billion from the old goat. Upon arriving in New York to make the most out of his new cash, Deeds meets a school nurse (Winona Ryder), who is really a tabloid reporter trying to get the scoop on the new billionaire. Meanwhile elements inside Deed's new empire are plotting to trick him into signing over his fortune to them.
If you honestly don't see where this thing is going, then I honestly don't know what to say to you. Mr. Deeds follows the rules of a light-hearted comedy so precisely that you actually feel insulted while watching each stale joke play out. It's as if they used a "connect the dots" screenplay creation book, and then set the movie on autopilot.
Making matters even worse is the horrible editing. Whoever cut this film must have had way too much coffee as scenes jump back and forth so quickly that moments that may have been funny are cut short. Shots cut so quickly that some lines are even interrupted. It has a very, very, sloppy feel to it.
Saving the movie from total damnation are two people. The first is John Tuturro, who plays Mr. Deeds' bizarre butler. He has some genuinely funny moments and seems to be what Jesus from The Big Lebowski would be like if he were a butler. The other is Winona Ryder. When she is in her "Pam Dawson" persona, it's as if she's emulating Alyson Hannigan, which is not a bad thing at all.
Mr. Deeds is a very generic comedy. There are very few good laughs, and even the ones that are there are more silly than genuinely funny. Maybe if you've never saw another comedy before, you'd like it. Everyone else might as well stay away.
2 out of 10
The Video
When the Columbia logo came up, I was saddened to see a large amount of grain in the picture in addition to many specs on the print. Things became even more worrisome when there was a tiny bit of mosquito noise on the text in the opening sequence. Thankfully, aside from a tiny bit of edge enhancement, the transfer improved as the movie went on.
Most impressive was the colors and details that could be found in Deeds' home. The background sets were just packed full of rich colors and tiny details that were brought through quite well in this transfer.
7 out of 10
The Audio
The Dolby 5.1 mix included on the disc is decent for a little comedy, although I felt that the dynamic range favored the music a bit too much. Dialog is naturally perfectly clear, but aside from a few moments such as the ambience of a crowded pizza joint early in the movie or the sounds of echoes when Deeds and his new staff have a little fun in his house there really aren't too many moments that really take advantage of the surrounds.
6 out of 10
The Extras
In addition to a decent feature-length audio commentary by director Steven Brill and writer Tim Herlihy, the DVD features six deleted scenes presented in non-anamorphic widescreen format. These are available separately or can be viewed as one featurette.
Speaking of featurettes, there are three included on the disc. "From Mandrake Falls to Manhattan", "Spare no Expense", and "Clothes Make the Man" all are rather short and somewhat promotional, but feature interviews with the key people involved with the making of the movie. Still, they are just a bit of fluff.
Following those is a music video for the Dave Matthews Band song "Where Are You Going", a funny little outtakes reel, and a collection of six Deeds greeting cards read by Adam Sandler.
For those of you with a DVD ROM drive, there is a script-to-screen feature. Finally, there are trailers for the movie as well as upcoming Columbia releases such as the animated Sandler flick and I Spy.
6 out of 10
